our people

David Cooper BA (Hons) MCSI

CEO

Having spent 25 years working in the City with institutional clients I decided the advantages they enjoyed should be shared with private clients.

After completing my degree at Warwick University I spent 25 years within the fixed income markets running trading desks for investment banks and as a partner at one of the top global inter-dealer brokerages. In addition to travelling the world trading and broking bonds I became involved in new business development and global recruitment.

During this period I also built and managed a residential and commercial property portfolio, but became increasingly disillusioned with the advice I received from private bankers and financial advisers. It was expensive, biased and poor quality.

Walden Capital was born when I and a number of highly talented, like-minded individuals decided we could do it better. I want to share our expertise, integrity and investment philosophy with you and deliver a premium wealth management experience at an excellent price.

Outside work my four teenage children (including triplets) demand my attention, so I’ve taken up hockey to escape whenever I can!

Providing institutional quality and investment advice at an attractive price has historically been the preserve of the most wealthy, the team at Walden Capital have the experience, knowledge and drive to change this for the benefit of all their clients.

Since completing my degree specialising in finance in 1989 I have had the privilege of working within some of the leading global asset management houses both as a fund manager and department head during extremely volatile investment periods. These have included Deutsche Asset Management, Aberdeen Asset Management, Brevan Howard, UBS Wealth Management (in Zurich) ,F&C Asset Management and now BMO Global Asset Management.

Whilst employed as Managing Director for UBS Wealth Management I had first hand experience of best practise at one of the world's leading private wealth management companies. I am using this knowledge to act as an independent advisor to Walden Capital's investment committee.

The last 20 years have not been a smooth ride for financial markets and through experience I have understood that diversification, efficient portfolio construction and a disciplined risk management framework are essential skills for creating and preserving wealth.

Walden Capital have incorporated these skills within the investment process and combined the dedication to provide individual advice to produce an exceptional client experience.

Professor Jon Rushman MA CFA MBA

Professor of Practice at Warwick Business School

Working for large institutional fund managers one learns what really matters in a long-term investment strategy: risk management, diversification and cost control – principles less commonly understood and practised by those advising retail clients. I’m very pleased to work with Walden Capital because they clearly embrace those principles and share a commitment to bring institutional quality investment advice to individuals.

Jon advises on investment strategy and is the architect of Walden Capital’s investment process. After reading pure and applied mathematics at Cambridge University and a period as a software developer he followed a 14-year career with Barclays Global Investors and BlackRock. As a Managing Director, he played a key role in developing robust and cost-effective investment processes, managing over a trillion dollars of indexed and asset allocated investments.

He also spent some time as an investment strategist advising institutional clients on tactical asset allocation and hedge funds.

Alongside his work at Walden Capital, Jon was Professor of Practice in the Finance Group at Warwick Business School, where he lectured on Financial Engineering and Investment Process, and is now head of Ryedale, a firm of Investment Process consultants, assisting some of the largest asset managers in existence in optimising their investment process. Outside the office he is an avid sportsman particularly adept at rockclimbing and triathlons and passing these talents onto his 3 young children.

As an active investor over the past 10 years, my family now require an independent, intelligent, and personal Wealth Management service. Following an exhaustive search, I was fortunate to meet our founding partners who share the same goals and philosophy and we decided to create Walden Capital

After completing my degree in Business Administration from L'ESC Reims and Middlesex University, I embarked on a career in Finance, where over the next 25 years, I enjoyed roles as a trader, salesman and broker in Fixed Income Derivatives.

From 2004 to 2011, I served on the Executive Board of Tullett Prebon PLC, one the world's largest Interdealer Brokers, culminating in my role as Chief Operating Officer. This role gave me an invaluable insight into managing a global company and providing a first class broking service across all the major asset classes.

From my experience, the combination of integrity and insight are the main drivers in growing and maintaining a loyal client base; within Walden Capital we have the ability and dedication to service to provide both.

I have been married for 20 years and have two teenagers so free time is scarce but I enjoy golf and I am a keen collector of wine.

I’ve always been an advocate for our clients. Now with the benefit of institutional expertise and process I can also deliver a world-class service. It’s an exciting prospect

After spending over 25 years as a financial adviser, most of them working as a true independent, I have concluded that one of my most useful attributes is the ability to bring clarity and transparency to complex and opaque situations. This stems from an ability to combine legal acumen with financial awareness, and a keen interest in taxation.

I’m also a powerful advocate for my clients – I’ll fight their corner vigorously, which is often required when representing entrepreneurs and business owners.

As a Chartered Financial Planner with the relevant qualifications to advise in many specialist areas including pension transfers, I am kept very busy with interesting and complex work for our clients but in my rare spare time I enjoy coaching at Saffron Walden Swimming Club, and competing in the (very) occasional triathlon.

I have always interacted closely with clients within financial services, my early career was spent within the banking world culminating in the position of branch manager.

I have operated as an Independent Financial Adviser for the last 18 years which included a substantial period of time working for a leading accountancy practice.

The ability to think and act independently on behalf of my clients is a key requirement for me. This, combined with the backing of a group of committed city investment professionals makes Walden Capital a very interesting place to work and highly beneficial for our clients.

I am married with two grown up sons. As well as keeping the garden in shape, I enjoy travelling with my wife and, when time allows, the odd round of golf.